End of the Rode

I pulled the anchor rode out of the locker last week to clean off all the mud that was caked on a few sections, and after I put it all back in I realized that I did not have a line securing the bitter end. The end of the chain was secured to the wood separator in the locker by a shackle. So what? Well, if you read about our experience in the Delaware river last year and the Barge/Tug that was dragging down on us at night, you will see I told Deb to get ready for me to cut the anchor if he keeps coming. He was already over our anchor and getting scary close at that point. Well, I would have needed a blow torch to cut it loose as I never had a line securing it! I could have sworn I secured it that way. Holy crap! That could have ended badly. Imagine me scrambling for a pair of pliers to remove the shackle. I get the chills thinking about it.

Wimpy line I know, but it's anchored to plywood
so what's the weakest point?  

So, now I have a small line securing the end of the rode. If it gets to the point where I have to cut and run, I can do it. I also have a small orange fender that I can clip to the last link so I can retrieve it later. When we sail I always carry a sharp knife in my pocket for this reason, and to fight off Pirates. Maybe pepper spray would be a better option then hand to hand combat...that and a laser. A laser would be cool. "Your shirts on Fire!" *

While I had all the chain out again, I decided that having fifty foot marks with yellow spray paint wasn't enough, so I tagged the chain with bright orange zip ties at seventy five foot lengths. This is simple for my simple mind. I don't need a color chart hanging on the bow pulpit to tell me how much rode I have out.

I added a "Running out of chain!" indicator with four zip ties in a row. I would have liked red paint, but I didn't have any. This will work fine.

Yes, that's a cheap ass manual winch. I love it.
Builds muscle...and sweat. Lot's of sweat.

Cheers!
P

* Here is the link for building a laser defense system. http://www.geekosystem.com/diy-nes-zapper-laser-fire/  I was the laser geek for our plant at GM. I only started one fire, and it was a total accident. I was test firing a laser and downloaded what I thought was a simple spot mark. Turned out I loaded a wire frame model of the space shuttle. I was firing it at a piece of cardboard to protect the production part. Holy smokes! I put it out with a unique stomping routine which later lead to rain.